Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 5:12

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Chronicles 5:12. A hundred and twenty priests — Cymbals, psalteries, and harps, of any kind, in union with a hundred and twenty trumpets or horns, could not produce much harmony; as to melody, that must have been impossible, as the noise was too great.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Construction of the temple (2:1-7:22)

With the help of King Hiram of Tyre, Solomon prepared materials and arranged a workforce to build the planned temple (2:1-18; see notes on 1 Kings 5:1-18). Construction went on for seven years, until the temple, its furniture, its courtyard, and all other articles and decorations connected with it were completed according to plan (3:1-5:1; see notes on 1 Kings 6:1-51). The temple was then dedicated to God (5:2-7:22; see notes on 1 Kings 8:1-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

A CLOUD SYMBOLIZING GOD'S GLORY FILLED THE TEMPLE

"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place (for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their courses; also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets); and it came to pass, when the trumpeters and the singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Jehovah, saying, For he is good; for his lovingkindness endureth forever; that the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Jehovah, so that priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of God."

"The significance of the temple is made specific in the ceremonies that accompanied its dedication. They designated the Temple to be the lineal successor to Israel's previous sanctuaries."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 395. The ark of the covenant and the tent of meeting were brought into the temple, and God recognized the temple as the place where his name was recorded and where a manifestation of his earthly presence would dwell.

In view of all the sins and rebellions of Israel, and of the sins and failures of David, and especially of Solomon, and in consideration of the basic truth that God never commanded the building of the temple in the first place…. in spite of all this, God remained firm and immovable in his promise to Abraham that, "in him and in his seed (singular) "(Genesis 12:3), all the families of mankind would be blessed. To fulfill that glorious promise to the patriarchs, it was impossible for God to reject Messiah had been delivered, no matter what misunderstandings or outright sins and rebellions marked the behavior of the Chosen People. We may state it bluntly that, God was stuck with Israel until He had achieved the Grand Objective, namely, that of bringing the Prince of Life into our lost and ruined race. This simple truth explains why God accepted the temple, honored it with his presence, and sent fire from heaven as another positive indication of his approval (2 Chronicles7:1-10).

"The cloud of God's glory that filled the temple (2 Chronicles 5:11-14), was called the [~shekinah]."Ibid., p. 395.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 5

And all of the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month ( 2 Chronicles 5:1-3 ).

Which would be, then, the feast of trumpets.

And the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted because of the number of them, the multitude of them. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the holy of holies of the house, under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves from the ark. And there was nothing in the ark except the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt ( 2 Chronicles 5:4-10 ).

Now, originally, when Moses set up this little Ark of the Covenant, they put not only the two tables of stone upon which God had inscribed the Ten Commandments, but they also had the rod of Aaron that budded, and they also had a jar of manna. But at this point, of course, the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines and passed around. And so, at this point, all that was in the Ark of the Covenant, according to the record, was just the two tables of stone.

I've often thought how exciting it would be if they could discover again the Ark of the Covenant someplace. This little box made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And if the two tables of stone upon which God inscribed the law were still in them, what an archaeological find that would be. I'm sure that God has kept it lost, because what a relic this would become, and people would soon be worshipping it. And so God, I'm sure, deliberately just kept this thing hidden and uncovered by man, lest man would make some kind of an idol out of it.

Now it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and they were not at that time waiting for their courses: And the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brothers, being arrayed in white linen, and having the cymbals and the psalteries and the harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests who were sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God ( 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 ).

What a momentous occasion this must have been. The people of Israel gathered here at this fabulously, beautiful temple overlaid with gold. It's now complete. Beautiful work, the carvings and all. And so they bring the Ark of the Covenant from the tent into the holy of holies within this temple. And they pull out the staves and they set it in its place between the cherubim. Then the priests, some of them with the instruments of psalteries, others with harps. A hundred and twenty of them with trumpets. Plus, David had appointed a couple thousand as singers. And they all began to just worship God in the song, in the music. And as it came to this great crescendo, as the sound of the trumpets and the voices blended as one voice of praise and thanksgiving unto God, the cloud of God's glory that was the sign of God's presence among the children of Israel in the wilderness came down and it filled the temple. And the priests, because of the glory of God's presence, couldn't even stand, but just lay there in the glory of God's presence. What a beautiful sight. A bunch of fanatics. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The installation of the ark 5:2-14

Solomon dedicated the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (2 Chronicles 5:3). The priests brought the ark and the utensils, that had been in the tent David had pitched for the ark, into the temple. The temple site was north of, and higher than, the "city of David" where the Jerusalemites lived. Sacrifices of worship accompanied the installation. The descent of the cloud (shekinah) signified that God’s presence now abode in the most holy place in a localized sense (cf. Exodus 40:34-35). From then on God dwelt there among His people until the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 586 B.C. (cf. Ezekiel 10). His presence was the basis for Solomon’s address to the people and his prayer that followed.

The statement in 2 Chronicles 5:9 that the poles of the ark were visible "to this day" suggests that someone wrote Chronicles before the destruction of the temple. However, most scholars believe the evidence for a postexilic date of composition is overwhelming, and that this reference is a copyist’s mistake. Probably it came into this text from 1 Kings 8:8. [Note: See Payne, p. 460; and C. F. Keil, The Books of the Chronicles, p. 324.] Evidently the veil did not extend the full width of the sanctuary.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:   12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)   13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;   14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

      Solomon, and the elders of Israel, had done what they could to grace the solemnity of the introduction of the ark; but God, by testifying his acceptance of what they did, put the greatest honour upon it. The cloud of glory that filled the house beautified it more than all the gold with which it was overlaid or the precious stones with which it was garnished; and yet that was no glory in comparison with the glory of the gospel dispensation, 2 Corinthians 3:8-10. Observe,

      I. How God took possession of the temple: He filled it with a cloud,2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 5:13. 1. Thus he signified his acceptance of this temple to be the same to him that the tabernacle of Moses was, and assured them that he would be the same in it; for it was by a cloud that he made his public entry into that, Exodus 40:34. 2. Thus he considered the weakness and infirmity of those to whom he manifested himself, who could not bear the dazzling lustre of the divine light: it would have overpowered them; he therefore spread his cloud upon it,Job 26:9. Christ revealed things unto his disciples as they were able to bear them, and in parables, which wrapped up divine things as in a cloud. 3. Thus he would affect all that worshipped in his courts with holy reverence and fear. Christ's disciples were afraid when they entered into a cloud, Luke 9:34. 4. Thus he would intimate the darkness of that dispensation, by reason of which they could not stedfastly look to the end of those things which were now abolished, 2 Corinthians 3:13.

      II. When he took possession of it. 1. When the priests had come out of the holy place,2 Chronicles 5:11; 2 Chronicles 5:11. This is the way of giving possession. All must come out, that the rightful owner may come in. Would we have God dwell in our hearts? We must leave room for him; let every thing else give way. We are here told that upon this occasion the whole family of the priests attended, and not any one particular course: All the priests that were present were sanctified (2 Chronicles 5:11; 2 Chronicles 5:11), because there was work enough for them all, when such a multitude of sacrifices were to be offered, and because it was fit that they should all be eye-witnesses of this solemnity and receive the impressions of it. 2. When the singers and musicians praised God, then the house was filled with a cloud. This is very observable; it was not when they offered sacrifices, but when they sang the praises of God, that God gave them this token of his favour; for the sacrifice of praise pleaseth the Lord better than that of an ox or bullock,Psalms 69:31. All the singers and musicians were employed, those of all the three families; and, to complete the concert, 120 priests, with their trumpets, joined with them, all standing at the east end of the altar, on that side of the court which lay outmost towards the people, 2 Chronicles 5:12; 2 Chronicles 5:12. And, when this part of the service began, the glory of God appeared. Observe, (1.) It was when they were unanimous, when they were as one, to make one sound. The Holy God descended on the apostles when they met with one accord, Acts 2:1-4. Where unity is the Lord commands the blessing. (2.) It was when they were lively and hearty, and lifted up their voice to praise the Lord. Then we serve God acceptably when we are fervent in spirit serving him. (3.) It was when they were, in their praises, celebrating the everlasting mercy and goodness of God. As there is one saying oftener repeated in scripture than this, his mercy endureth for ever (twenty-six times in one psalm, Psalms 136:1-26, and often elsewhere), so there is none more signally owned from heaven; for it was not the expression of some rapturous flights that the priests were singing when the glory of God appeared, but this plain song, He is good, and his mercy endureth for ever. God's goodness is his glory, and he is pleased when we give him the glory of it.

      III. What was the effect of it. The priests themselves could not stand to minister, by reason of the cloud (2 Chronicles 5:14; 2 Chronicles 5:14), which, as it was an evidence that the law made men priests that had infirmity, so (as bishop Patrick observes) it was a plain intimation that the Levitical priesthood should cease, and stand no longer to minister, when the Messiah should come, in whom the fulness of the godhead should dwell bodily. In him the glory of God dwelt among us, but covered with a cloud. The Word was made flesh; and when he comes to his temple, like a refiner's fire, who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth?Malachi 3:1; Malachi 3:2.